


Necessary Evil

by ziva_lives_on



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-10
Updated: 2014-02-10
Packaged: 2018-01-11 21:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziva_lives_on/pseuds/ziva_lives_on
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ed realizes that angels aren't all fluffy wings and goodwill, and that some things are just inevitable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Necessary Evil

Ed didn’t believe in angels. They were fluffy, mystical creatures he remembered from his days as a choir boy (not that he’d ever admit to that) and frankly, he preferred the logical over the religious. Ghosts? Logical, he’d had a few close calls with them. He’d never seen an angel, and he could say with certainty that he never would.

Ed had come back from some recon outside the Morton House and for once he was feeling confident- the place had a definite ‘Silent Hill’ vibe to it and he was convinced he’d heard noises coming from inside the house. Corbett was in the kitchen making coffee, something that was slowly becoming a regular occurrence since his parents had thrown him out of the house for reasons he was unwilling to disclose. Not that Ed minded having Corbett around all the time- it meant he had french vanilla coffee on tap and someone other than Maggie to talk to. Something worried him though, and the worry was growing each day. As Harry liked to point out, Corbett was real friendly. He had no problem with making Ed dinner or even putting a blanket on him whenever he falls asleep by his laptop. Maggie told Corbett he could hang around for as long as he wanted, Ed just worried that when the time came he wouldn’t want Corbett to leave.

It wasn’t until Ed had sat down on the couch and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table that he realized that something wasn’t right. Sitting at the table across from him was some hot-shot executive guy with no hair and a cheap suit. After some close analysis, Ed decided he looked more like an out-of-luck accountant. The accountant leered at Corbett, who appeared unaware of his presence and Ed felt strangely defensive of the intern.

"Cute pet you’ve got yourself there," He said smoothly before leaning forward "Things need to change, Ed. The end of humanity is just around the corner and right now the outcome doesn’t look so great. There’s a lot of factors that will affect this outcome, and you my boy just so happen to be one of them"

Ed sat in stunned silence, blinked a few times, gave up on trying to figure out a logical reason for why this was happening and began frantically calling for Maggie. She did karate, she’d know how to beat up an intruder. The guy in the cheap suit simply rolled his eyes at Ed’s screams. When Maggie didn’t come, Ed turned nervously to the intruder.

"Who are you and why are here?" He asked, trying to keep the quiver out of his voice.

"My name is Zachariah, and I don’t really like walking around in a meatsuit so pay attention. I’m here because, how do I say… you’re participation in the upcoming Apocalypse is not in Heaven’s best interest. Now, I could just kill you, but since you’ve somehow managed to befriend the Winchesters that’s not really in my best interest. They seem to enjoy killing messengers of God, even when all we ever did was try and help them”

"Angels don’t exist," Ed muttered quietly "And I doubt you’re much better than those douchenozzel Winchesters" The angel just sighed dramatically and looked at his watch. 

"Look, if you are one of those despicable folk who are simply apathetic about the fate of the universe, fine- so how about we focus a little closer to home then?" He said, waving his hand haughtily in the direction of Corbett "In exactly 48 hours that intern of yours will be dead, and not ‘Winchester dead’ either, I’m talking really dead. Now you can let him die, or…"

"Or?"

"You can save him" The angel declared smugly.

Ed didn’t miss a beat. “How?”

"Easy, break his heart. Tear the kid to pieces and he won’t step one foot into the Morton House, I assure you. Instead of dying alone in a freezing basement, he’ll live a long and happy life with a husband who makes computers and a dog who’s name is a vague reference to Star Trek”

"Wait," Ed stuttered "Just, what? Corbett doesn’t… no way buddy, you’ve got the wrong impression- he’s just here because his parents threw him out, not because he’s got the hots for me or anything"

The angel seemed to make a point of sighing any time Ed opened his mouth “Human’s are so dense, I don’t know what Castiel sees in them. Look, just take it from me that the intern isn’t just here for the pointless work experience and what you affectionately call the cosy atmosphere”

Ed paused for a moment, shaking his head. “Even if he did like me that way, I couldn’t intentionally hurt another team member”

"Spare me your moral squint, Zeddmore- let’s just make this real quick, okay?"

Suddenly there were two fingers to Ed’s forehead and before he could flinch everything went black.

In his dreams Ed saw darkness. There was pained screams, frantic calls out to Corbett and silence. The silence was the worst part. Then out of the darkness came a soft sound. It was crying, whispers of ‘I love you’ and sobs of ‘oh please, Corbett’. There came blinding light after that, freedom, but a loss so terrible Ed could hardly bare it. When Ed finally woke up, he knew what he had to do.

Corbett was still in the kitchen making coffee when Ed came back around. He was humming to himself, something Ed could vaguely make out as the Star Wars theme tune. He braced himself, and kept whispering “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”

"Corbett, I need to talk to you" He hoped the intern wouldn’t hear his voice shaking.

Corbett turned around and smiled nervously “Oh, okay. What about?” He was sipping a cup of coffee intently.

"Um, you, specifically” Ed stated. Corbett wasn’t smiling anymore. “You need to leave the Ghostfacers”

“What?” Corbett dropped his coffee. The mug shattered on the ground, spilling it’s steaming contents across the floor and onto Ed.

“Shit" Corbett whispered. He grabbed a cloth frantically and began to clean the floor. "S-sorry, I didn’t mean to do that- I’ll replace the mug, I promise"

Ed grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into an upright position “Forget the coffee for a minute and listen to me. I need you to leave the team, you’ve done a great job here but I’m afraid it just isn’t working out” 

"Is it because I burnt the coffee yesterday because I swear, I can do better.”

“No Corbett, it’s not about the coffee… it’s hard to explain. As Ghostfacers we need to go boldly where no man has gone before and… I just don’t think you’re up to it.” Ed looked down at his trainers. They still had dirt on them from the Morton House. No matter how hard it was to hurt the intern, Ed needed more than anything to save him. He looked at Corbett with a face he hoped portrayed indifference and waved his hand vaguely in the air “So you know, live long and prosper, all that” 

Corbett didn’t respond. Ed grimaced as he watched the intern blink back tears.

"Please, Ed", He said eventually "Don’t make me go. I love Ghostfacing, I love the team, I love finally belonging somewhere" 

Corbett paused for a moment, fiddling with the cloth in his hands nervously.

"I love you" He said softly, barely any louder than a whisper "Wherever you go, I’m gonna follow"

"But you can’t always follow me!" Ed screamed. Corbett looked like a kicked puppy. Ed felt like a monster. 

"Look, Corbett", he sighed "You’re a nice kid and a good intern but that’s it. I’m not gay and I sure as Hell don’t love you back, so please just pack up your shit and go”

"You’re lying" He muttered, "I don’t know why but you’re lying"

Ed felt like he was lying too, and it made him feel sick. Out of other options, he resorted to violence. Corbett obviously wasn’t expecting to get hit so the first blow hit him directly in his face. Blood began to slowly pour out of his nose, mingling with the tears that were now streaming down his cheeks. 

"You’re a fucking faggot and you make me sick, so just get the fuck out of my life" Ed was expecting a fight, for Corbett to hit him back and scream at him for being such a dick but no assault came. Instead he shot Ed a look that could kill, wiped away the blood on his face with his hand and grabbed his coat. He paused by the door for a second, before muttering "No matter what you say, I’m always gonna be a Ghostfacer. They are still my family and this is still my home". Ed closed his eyes and wished it would all end already. When he heard the door slam shut as the intern left, he felt his chest crumble inside of him. He kept telling himself that he’d done the right thing, but he still couldn’t get Corbett’s voice out of his head or the look in his eyes as Ed broke his heart into a million pieces.

Corbett came to the Morton House in the end. He showed up out of nowhere decked out like Robo-Cop and it was almost exactly like the vision the dickwad angel has shown him except instead of awkward flirtations Corbett glared at Ed every time he turned around. When Daggett started acting up, Ed grabbed Corbett by the arm and begged him to leave. The intern stared back with cold eyes, shaking himself out of Ed’s grip. Without another word, he stormed down the creaky hallway towards the front door. Ed knew however that Corbett never made it out of the Morton House because just when they were ready to bail themselves the screaming started. It didn’t take them long to find the intern, half-dead and alone in a freezing basement, just like the angel said. This time there is no death echo, no declaration of love- there’s just never-ending silence and Corbett’s face twisted in pain before he disappeared into the afterlife.

Ed was sitting on a park bench months later when he saw the angel again. He’d been minding his own business when suddenly there was a flutter of wings and the bastard was sitting next to him looking surprisingly smug.

"Why?" Ed asked "You told me if I made him stop loving me then everything would be okay"

The angel shrugged “Turns out there was nothing that could make that kid… uh, whatshisname, stop loving you. Apparently, you were soulmates or whatever those Cupids call the product of their target practice”

"You could have done something" Ed whispered, desperately trying to scrape some emotion out of the beast beside him. "You could have saved him if you wanted to"

The angel laughed “You’re right, I could have- but you see choir boy, you underestimated us. We angels aren’t all harps and good will, we are warriors and we will do whatever it takes to protect Heaven”

"What did Corbett do to deserve this?"

"Nothing, he was a sweet kid all things considered, real Heaven material. His only mistake was falling for you. Even if he’d lived, that hero streak in your code would have come back to bite us in the ass eventually. Humanity is nothing but cockroaches, crawling through immorality and sin. If I have to stomp on a few bugs to get you to do what is needed, then that’s fine by me. You, Ed Zeddmore are part of a much bigger plan” He shot Ed a chilling glare “Make sure you pick the right side”

"What do you want from me?"

"Obedience, when the time comes. I need you to be Heaven’s bitch, and I need you to like it” The angel smirked. 

"You’re no angel, you’re pure evil"

The angel just smirked.

"Not quite kid. The King Of Hell, now he’s pure evil. I’m what I like to call necessary evil. Now you know what angels are capable of, you know not to side with the Winchesters- I mean spell books and Latin might get you out of a tight spot, but they won’t save your family from the wrath of Heaven"   
And just like that, the douche in a cheap suit disappeared into thin air leaving Ed all alone.


End file.
